The wild wild East

 Southern Swing Leg 3 Exploring the surroundings of Attapeu

We spent the day driving East in the direction of the Vietnam border. The proximity to Vietnam is very evident in Attapeu where knowing how to speak Vietnamese is more useful than Lao.

At an active Wat (=monastery in Lao).  Monks' clothing hanging to dry.

Colors!  Inside the temple.

A group of women villagers taking over the [sunken] road sifting dirt and mixing with water.  We are still not sure what they were ultimately trying to do. 

Much of the area is untouched consisting of small villages and the forest/jungle.   We saw no other foreigners and were often one of the few motor vehicles on the road.

Local villagers cutting down logs for personal use.  A very different scene from the many Vietnamese companies who have become rich from logging and farming in Laos. 

A Russian-surfaced missile found somewhere along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southeastern Laos.

Three on one moto?!  No worries, only for 100m or so.

Gorgeous sunset over the Sekong River with fishermen casting their nets.

The fiery pink sky post-sunset.  It just got better and better.  Awesome.

Laos BBQ- picture a combination of Korean BBQ with Chinese hot pot.  Yum!